Tarantula

I have been lucky in that every stranger that I have played with have been great guys. Best was we were paired with a two Brits at Gary Player Golf course at Sun City (where the Nedbank Challenge is being held this weekend incidentally), one being 80 and the other being 65. They gave us advise when we needed it, many jokes being cracked, and a very enjoyable round. I know one day I will be paired with a jerk. Matter of time really. I can't see it going down well, as I get annoyed with jerks in the 4 ball ahead or behind that I am not even playing with!

Good win for us last night! End of the trophy drought? I think so.

Glad you guys feel the same! I must say, during my round on Sunday I was wishing I was back at my home course. Hating every second of this long, old school, dog leg, blind shot course. The bizarre thing is, when I first played my home course as a visitor, I vowed there and then to never play the course again! Two months later I was a full member and now I cannot wait to play it every weekend. So although a course can seem impossible at first, enough rounds under the belt, and you'll begin to love it. That being said, there are some courses I have played once and certainly will never again.

On Saturday, I played my home course and shot my best score to date. 40 on the front, and 42 on the back. Was very, very happy. As a result, to my horror, my handicap jumped from 17 to 14 just on entering that score. On Sunday, I played a course which I had not played before. It was an old school parkland and very different to my home course. Tough but fair. The result was my worst round of golf in over a year. 48 on the front, 49 on the back. Weather was bad, and I was really not feeling up for the round in the morning. That is a 15 shot swing in 24 hours. So my thinking is, I have become far too familiar with my home course and how to play it, and when I arrive at a different course I am a bit like a fish out of water. Secondly, I feel my handicap has become distorted because 80% of my rounds are at my home course, and generally score well as I know it well. Do you guys have this same problem? Do you purposely try to play other courses just to keep your game up? Do you struggle with pts on other courses compared to your home? On my home course I can keep up with the best on point scores. I may be reading too much into this, and it could just have been a really bad day. I had unlucky bounces, felt a bit under the weather, nothing I tried worked. But still, this game of golf can really bring you back down to earth.

A couple weeks back we were playing a course on a Saturday and the field was VERY slow. At the 2nd par 3 there were two full four balls waiting on the tee box in front of us. We waited patiently for our turn. While we were playing our 1st shots another fourball arrived on the tee box (complete disregard that one of us was in mid swing when their noisy petrol carts arrived). It was a 210 metre par 3 (not sure how far that is in yards, 230?) and pretty tough. While we were finishing off our hole, we could see the 4ball, hands on hips, looking very frustrated. We then hear a loud "FORE" and we instinctively ducked, only to realise it was a cynical joke from them in a perceived attempt for us to hurry up. As we climbed into our carts, a ball pitched about 1 foot away from my left leg, and was so close to our cart that when the ball bounced up it hit the underside of my cart. less than a foot further it would have hit me square on the knee. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to challenge them about it as the field sped up afterwards. I find these actions completely unacceptable. Sometimes the field is slow, and its not the four ball in front of you at fault, it is most likely a four ball about 5 holes ahead. I am not a violent guy, but if that had hit me, things would have got very messy.

I never wear my golf shoes to the range. And I always found it a bit perplexing why guys would wear their full golf kit to the range. After reading this thread, I see there is method to their madness. I might start wearing my shoes from now on.

I must say, all US golfers should not play in South Africa if you are looking for a quick round. An average round here in SA takes about 5 hours. Very often its closer to 5,5 hours. An SA tradition is to have a breakfast/lunch at half way (taking about 15-20 min). Apparently this is not the norm overseas.

Shot an 83 yesterday. Best round for me so far.

Best shot of the week was at the toughest par 5 of my home course (the 13th). Uphill dog leg left with a narrow entry to the green. Hit an average drive with 220 metres left into a narrow bunker guarded green. Nothing to lose as I was having a poorish round and decided to go for it. Contemplated the 3W, but decided to go with my new, and now favourite club, my Burner Rescue 4. Nailed it, bounced once before the green and rolled pin high onto the green. Left a 5 metre putt for eagle! Unfortunately my putt finished an inch short, but a 5 metre putt for eagle really did make my day!